By Norman Miwambo

4^th June 2012:

Gen. Museveni: Should he be afraid?

The judgment of The Hague-based Special Court for Sierra Leone that handed a 50 year-jail sentence to former Liberian leader Charles Taylor was a landmark decision that also has a chilling message for the leadership in Uganda.  It is well documented that Uganda’s leaders have previously sponsored indicted war criminals in the region.

Taylor became the first former head of state to be convicted since World War II. Taylor, 64, was found guilty on 11 counts of aiding and abetting the Revolutionary United Front rebels in Sierra Leone, which had murdered and mutilated tens of thousands of people for 11 years until 2002.

As Taylor’s victims in Sierra Leone watched the trial via live feed from The Hague, one thing immediately comes mind – the day when the people of DR Congo, northern Uganda and Ugandans at large, will convene on the streets of Kampala and Kinshasha to watch the live trial of Gen. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, Maj. Gen. Edward Kalekezi Kayihura, Brig. Charles Angina and Kahinda Otafire live from The Hague.

Going by the December 19, 2005, International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling in the DR Congo Vs Uganda case and Thomas Lubanga’s recent life sentence by the ICC, there is now a very real chance that Museveni and his top Congo henchmen like Kayihura might spend the rest of their lives in jail.

In the DR Congo Vs Uganda case, the ICJ found Uganda guilty of committing acts of killing, torture, pillaging, and many other forms of inhuman and degrading treatment against Congolese civilians.  For that, the ICJ ordered Uganda to pay $10bn to DR Congo.

It is also a well known fact that during Uganda’s occupation of Congo, Uganda and Thomas Lubanga worked hand-in-hand to in the abduction of children to turn them into killing machines for Lubanga’s rebel group.

Former UN diplomat Olara Otunnu for example believes that, “…what gave Lubanga his power and sway in the Congo was the sponsorship of Ugandan leaders…Lubanga was one small player within Uganda orbit.” Otunnu says, adding that, “in fact, Ugandan leaders and commanders are liable to be criminally charged for what they did in the Congo.”

If that is indeed the case, then we have no option but to ask:

If Charles Taylor was found guilty of aiding and abetting the Revolutionary United Front rebels in Sierra Leone, then why shouldn’t Museveni and his officers be indicted and tried by the ICC for supporting Jean Pierre Bemba’s Movement for Liberation of Congo (MLC), Thomas Lubanga’s Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC), and Ernest Wamba dia Wamba’s RCD Kisangani?

If any legal precedent were needed for the ICC to indict Museveni and his top lieutenants, then it can look to its own decision to indict Sudanese President Omar Hassan al Bashir, a sitting Head of State, for allegedly committing crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur.

General James Kazini and Brigadier Noble Mayombo may have left the scene, but Museveni and his remaining “Congo henchmen” may one day find their way to The Hague.  END.  Please login to www.ugandacorrespondent.com every Monday to read our top stories and anytime mid-week for our news updates.